Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), a Pittsburgh industrialist who made his fortune in coke and steel, maintained homes in Pittsburgh, Pa., Prides Crossing, Mass., and New York, N.Y. These receipts document personal and office expenditures of Henry Clay Frick, his family, and staff.

Preferred Citation

Biographical Note

Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919) was a prominent industrialist and art collector who made his fortune in the coal, coke, steel, and railroad industries. Born into modest circumstances in West Overton, Pa., Frick ended his formal education by the mid-1860s. In 1871, he borrowed money to purchase a share in a coking concern that would eventually become the H.C. Frick Coke Co. Over the next decade, he continued to expand his business through the acquisition of more coal lands and coke ovens, and entered into partnership with fellow industrialist Andrew Carnegie in 1882. Frick assumed the chairmanship of Carnegie Bros. & Co. (later Carnegie Steel Co.) in 1889, and served in that capacity until his resignation from the company in December 1899. During his tenure as chairman, differences between Frick and Carnegie emerged, most significantly in their approach to labor issues. The 1892 Homestead Strike further strained relations between the two men, and in 1899, Frick permanently severed his relationship with Carnegie.

In December 1881, Frick married Adelaide Howard Childs of Pittsburgh. The couple purchased a house, nicknamed Clayton, in Pittsburgh's East End, and had four children: Childs Frick (1883-1965), Martha Howard Frick (1885-1891), Helen Clay Frick (1888-1984), and Henry Clay Frick, Jr. (born 1892, died in infancy). After the turn of the century, Frick and his family began dividing their time between Pittsburgh, New York, and Massachusetts. In 1905, Frick leased the Vanderbilt mansion at 640 Fifth Avenue in New York. The family's summer residence, located on Boston's North Shore, was completed in 1906 and christened Eagle Rock. As early as 1907, Frick began planning for a New York residence of his own. That year, he purchased a plot of land at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 70th Street, and in 1912, after the demolition of the Lenox Library formerly on the site, began building the beaux arts mansion which now houses The Frick Collection. Designed by Thomas Hastings of the firm Carrère and Hastings, the family moved into the house at 1 East 70th Street in the fall of 1914, and Henry Clay Frick died there five years later.

Scope and Contents note

This series consists primarily of receipted invoices, 1900-1926, for personal and office expenses incurred by Henry Clay Frick, his family, and staff. The receipts encompass a range of goods and services, including groceries, clothing, transportation, medical expenses, club dues and charges, books and subscriptions, utilities, and payroll. These items document expenses at the Frick family's homes in Pittsburgh, Pa., and Prides Crossing, Mass., their residences at 640 Fifth Avenue and 1 East 70th Street in New York, N.Y., and some of the family's travels. Alterations and upkeep of these residences, as well as maintenance and improvement to their grounds are recorded. Expenses incurred after Frick's death in December 1919 were paid by his estate.

Goods and services documented here were procured through both businesses and individuals , and a brief description of the charge incurred is included with each entry in the finding aid below. Receipts are occasionally accompanied by correspondence, passbooks, or printed material, such as notices, brochures, and pamphlets. Folder contents may range from a single item to several folders of documents. Examples of some of the more voluminous files in this series are grocers (Acker, Merrall and Condit Co.; Childs, Sleeper and Co.; Clark Bros. and Co.; Edw. Treser Co.; Geo. M. Hofmann; John A. Renshaw and Co.; North Shore Fish Co.; and Rowley's Provision Co.), ice (Consolidated Ice Co.), shipping (Adams Express Co., American Express Co.), utilities (Allegheny Light Co. and People's Natural Gas Co.), telephone and telegraph services (New England Telephone and Telegraph Co., New York Telephone Co., Western Union Telegraph Co., Central District and Printing Telegraph Co., and Postal Telegraph-Cable Co.), stationers ( J.R. Weldin and Co. and Stevenson and Foster Co.), and payroll. While most receipts are filed under the service provider, certain employees in the Frick household kept their own accounts and submitted monthly expense summaries, filed here under the employee's surname. These include chauffeur George Despres, coachman James Elmore, gardeners David Fraser and George Wyness, butler Joseph Holroyd, engineer John Holroyd, and private rail car steward L. Perkins.

This series is not a complete record of all invoices paid by Henry Clay Frick's office and household. In fact, receipts in this series tend to be for smaller expenses, and appear to have been paid through the secretary's account in Frick's Pittsburgh office. Larger expenses were paid through the accounts payable voucher system (see: Henry Clay Frick Papers, Series III: Voucher Files, where additional receipts and invoices can be found).

Custodial History

These files form part of the Frick Family Papers, placed on deposit by the Helen Clay Frick Foundation at The Frick Collection and Frick Art Reference Library. They were received from the Frick Art and Historical Center (Pittsburgh, Pa.) in December 2001.

Provenance

Gift of the Helen Clay Frick Foundation, 2015.

Processing Information

Arranged and described by Julie Ludwig, with assistance from Rebecca Brauer, Anne Young, Tiffany Tyau-Wong, and Reed Gochberg, 2004-2010. Funding for processing was provided by the Helen Clay Frick Foundation.